In a known cooling device of this kind (FR-A-2 715 773) a cooling fluid is directed onto the cooling plate from outlet openings of the distributing device acting as jets. On the outside of the cooling plate a power component is arranged and includes several power semiconductor elements. Each of these power semiconductor elements is associated with one of the jets on the underside of the cooling plate. The distributing device is a one-piece plate, into which is formed, by boring, a U-shaped branched feed channel for the cooling fluid. The cooling fluid is drained through a single opening and a bored drain channel in the middle of the cooling plate. The manufacture of the distributing device is difficult, because the bores extending parallel to the plane of the cooling plate can be made only with great difficulty. Since a jet is arranged below each power semiconductor element, the cooling device is suitable only for a specific power component. For other forms of power components a new design must be made. Further, since each power semiconductor element is cooled only by one cooling fluid stream and the cooling fluid is drained through a common opening, relatively large temperature gradients appear at the cooling surfaces of the power semiconductor elements. Also, the jets are all arranged at the outer edge of the space lying between the cooling plate and the distributing plate through which the cooling fluid flows. Therefore, the cooling fluid does not flow symmetrically in all directions from the jets to the central drain openings along and below the power components. Especially along the edges of the distributing plate no flow appears. Consequently, at this place no sufficient heat dissipation is achievable.
The invention has as its object the provision of a cooling device of the aforementioned kind, which is suited for use with different shapes of power components, which provides a uniform cooling over the entire cooling surface of the cooling plate, and insofar as it is used for the cooling of power components is safe for each power component and is simple to manufacture.